A mum-of-three who spend thousands of pounds covering her body in tattoos has revealed her striking transformation as she quit her job in a call centre to pursue body modification. Kerry Moon, a 43-year-old mum who lives in West Sussex, describes her younger self as a 'plain Jane' but that couldn't be further from the truth now, as she dons a nearly full bodysuit of tattoos and a shaved head.
The call centre worker-turned body piercer shop manager started getting inked 15 years ago, and hasn't looked back. Kerry always considered herself the odd one out and was a tom boy growing up, but years down the line, she she turned to extreme body tattooing as a way of 'finding herself' after a difficult break-up.
The mum had always liked body art and piercings and had a handful from various tattooists before she met her current artist, Ben, 44, who is now her friend and boss. He introduced her to the world of extreme body tattooing and now her appearance has completely transformed.
"As I was nearing 30 and with the breakdown of my relationship with my son Tyree's dad, I started to do more for me which included getting more tattoos, I fell into getting heavily tattooed without really thinking about it.
"My artist Ben had just completed a design on the inside of my left arm and I was in awe, it was the biggest piece I had done and I was in love.
"I knew then I wanted more and when Ben said 'hey shall we do a full sleeve. I've never done one on a woman before' that was the beginning of my modification journey.
Since that life-changing moment, Kerry looks back with no regrets on her body modification as she now has too many tattoos to count.
Concerned about her tattoos impacting her job at the time, Kerry explained: "At this point I was managing a call centre in Croydon and needed to ask permission from my employers if it was ok, at the time they agreed as long as I could cover my arm when working and in meetings."
But it wasn't long before she left her call centre job behind to fully pursue a life in body modification.
"By the time I had completed both sleeves I was obsessed, I knew this was me and how I was meant to look, I also knew I wanted to be completely covered.
"If I could get into the industry myself it would be even better, so I left the call centre to pursue a tattoo apprenticeship, sadly this didn't work out, but what I did do was enter into the body piercing side.
In 2016, Kerry's tattoo artist branched out to launch his own shop, so she joined his team - starting as a receptionist and moving her way up to body piercing.
"Working within the industry brings many benefits including frequent tattoo sessions, so this has definitely helped with my goal of getting covered.
Although it was a dark time in Kerry's life, she believes leaving her relationship of ten years ago allowed her to find her real identity.
"Before my transformation I didn't really feel much to be honest. Just a normal girl living a normal life," she said.
"I had always loved the tattoo world, I think going through a life change of leaving a relationship of ten years from a young age, I kind of felt like I found myself.
Kerry's extreme tattoo journey started 15 years ago, but she got her first ink when she was just 17.
When asked whether she knows how much her body modifications have cost over the years, she said: "I really don't know how much the transformation has cost me, definitely a couple of thousand, it is difficult to calculate because I have not paid for any modifications since 2016.
"I have been modifying for 15 years and I am still going so that is the proof it's a real commitment."
After spending hours in the artist's chair, Kerry reveals which areas of the body hurt the most to get tattooed: "There are a number of places that have really hurt, my ribs, hips, armpits, back of the knees, inside thighs and thumbs, it seems to get more painful the older I get."
Kerry receives mainly positive responses on her tattoos, but she says that her most polarising piece is her head tattoo.
"In real life, it's mostly positive if someone does approach me to talk to me it is generally because they are interested and like the way I look," said Kerry.
"A lot of people say they find me intimidating until they talk to me and realise I'm just a normal person
"My head tattoo is a bit like marmite, you either love it or hate it."
Kerry says her children don't mind her tattoos and just see her as their mum beyond all else. She admits that sometimes other mums stare but once they get to know her its just a part of who she is.
"None of my kids have been bullied or affected due to my tattoos or piercings," Kerry adds.
"My youngest children don't know any different, I've always looked this way and different to other parents.
"All three have said they want tattoos, obviously there is a long wait for the younger two and they may well change their minds as they get older."
"I am proud of the way I look, I love the way I look, I will never be ashamed, and to all the people who ask what I would look like when I'm in my 80's, well I just can't bloody wait to find out.
"I hope I'm the weird old lady with all the tattoos. I've been dedicated to my bodysuit for 15 years now, I'm so close to being fully tattooed, I haven't done this on a whim or for fashion.
"I have done it because I love it, I love the industry, I love the artistry, I love the way the tattooing world is always evolving as am I, I have no regrets and I will never regret my modifications."
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